Circles
by Dawn Desdemona
Summary: All her life she's been abused, all her life she's been alone, all her life she's been praying for someone to help. Will her wish come true in the form of an impulsive, dark haired teen? YuBo
1. Chapter 1

Circles

Author's Note: To those of you who have favorite, followed, reviewed, or just enjoyed reading my earlier work, "Only You," I am very, _very, _sorry. I usually didn't get the chance to update often, so I was always in a rush. That's what lead me to delete it, and I hope those of you who are upset about it can understand. *Dodges tomatoes* Okay, never mind...

Disclaimer: If I owned Yu Yu Hakusho then Yusuke and Botan would've fell in love with each other. But that didn't happen, now did it?

Chapter 1

* * *

Harushima Botan shivered as the rain continued to pour down on her, her arms wrapped around her torso as a failed attempt to keep warm. She wasn't exactly sure of the time, or where she was, but none of that mattered. She couldn't go back, she wouldn't _dare_ go back to that house. Not with those people, her father, or her sister. She would just watch Botan with those emotionless gray eyes of hers, watch her cry out as their father would beat her, a cruel smile would grace her lips as she would watch her tormented sister.

One painful step at a time, she had managed to distance herself from that hell of a home. Feeling too weak to continue walking, she sat down on the cold, wet sidewalk. She curiously looked at herself, her arms and legs were covered in yellowing bruises, her head felt like it was going to explode, and she felt a throbbing pain in her ankle. It looked swollen, meaning it was either sprained again or this time it was really broken. Not that it mattered, breaking bones was not uncommon for her. It would worry her teachers sometimes, but they were gullible enough to believe her lies of tripping or falling down the stairs, she wasn't exactly one of the most coördinated people they knew. It would still bother her though, sometimes she wished they_ would_ see through her lies, through her false smile, through everything. But Botan never kept her hopes up for long, her father's beatings would bring her right back into reality, no one would help her.

_His calloused hand struck her again and again, her cries for him to stop only succeeding in making him slap her harder. She fell back, only for him to yank her back up again by her hair, landing a hard kick in her stomach and finally releasing his hold on her hair and letting her fall to the ground, seemingly stopping his beating..._

_Only to yank her back up again, punching her hard in the face. The back of her head connected with the window hard, cracking the glass. Not being able to stop herself, she falls down, curling into a small ball while holding back the tears she knew were about to fall. She couldn't cry, not in front of** him**. _

_"Pathetic bitch!" He yelled, stomping out of her room, slamming the door loudly._

_She winced as the noise echoed throughout the house, the sounds of footsteps coming her way making her heart feel as though it would come right out of her chest. She looked up, only to be greeted with the sight of grey eyes devoid of any emotion. _

_"__Sayuri, why didn't you..."_

_S__ayuri's eyes narrowed. "As if I would want to help a worthless girl like you." She planted her foot hard on Botan's back, making her cough up blood. Taking her foot off, she smirked wickedly before walking away, leaving Botan alone in her room._

_S__he was always alone in that room of hers._

She was always alone, at home all she had was pain. At school, her only true friends were Shizuru, an assertive older student who cares for her friends as much as she care's for her little brother, and Yukina, a soft-spoken girl her age who loved nature. Those two were all she's ever had, but neither of them knew of her situation at home. All they knew was that Botan would always seem to get hurt everyday, making them worry over her constantly. For their sake, she would try to remain cheerful, unhurt. For their sake, she promised herself she would continue living her meaningless life.

But now, she just wanted more than anything else to sleep. To sleep and never have to wake up. Letting her eyes drift shut, she prayed for freedom of the pain, not caring if that freedom came through death.

Unshed tears began falling down her pale face and, for the first time in what felt like forever, she could actually just let them fall. She didn't have to blink them back, she didn't have to wipe them away, and she didn't have to deny that they were there.

Through death she'd be alive, because while she was living it felt like she was dead. It was finally time to leave her dead life.

"Goodbye..." She whispered.

* * *

"Goodbye..."

A dark haired teen stood over the fragile girl, eyes clouded slightly with tears that refused to be shed. He wouldn't, he didn't deserve to cry as much as this girl did.

He knew that she was probably a runaway, and he knew that someone did this to her. Who it was, he wasn't to sure of. An abusive boyfriend maybe? I didn't matter to him, whoever it was, they needed to get their asses kicked.

He took off his jacket, wrapping it around her shoulders and carefully picked her up, knowing his mother would have at least some idea of what to do. She needed help, and quick.

Urameshi Yusuke was a delinquent, but he had a heart too.

* * *

A/N: I don't know why but I'm always bad at doing Yusuke's point of view. I have a bad habit of making Yusuke like Kurama or Hiei. I guess it's just hard for me to think in his point of view... I doubt other author's have this problem... Anyway, Let me know what you think! (In the form of a review please!)


	2. Chapter 2

Circles

A/N: Poor Botan...

Disclaimer: Yu Yu Hakusho belongs to Yoshiro Togashi, not me.

Chapter 2

* * *

Urameshi Yusuke stared down at the girl in his arms, noticing that she looked about his age, she couldn't have been any older than fifteen. She was pretty too, soft, long blue hair and delicate pale skin that would've been flawless had it not have been for the bruises and blood. She was badly hurt, this he knew.

It was what happened to her that he didn't know.

He stiffened slightly when she shifted in his arms, mumbling something incoherent as she did. Good, that meant she was still alive. She was freezing and bleeding when he had found her, even now while she wore his jacket she was still shivering. Noting that the sun was coming up- and that it had finally stopped raining- Yusuke began walking at a faster pace, the sooner the girl got help, the better.

* * *

_Screams could be heard throughout the entire block, cries for the pain to go away, pleas for someone-anyone- to help._

_But they all fell on deaf ears._

_B__otan screamed out when she felt **his** hand come down on her again, leaving bight red handprints on her. Her sister remained in her usual spot, the corner of the room so she could get the "best view" to watch the "show." Lavender eyes locked with steely gray ones, silently pleading for help. She winked at Botan, making the younger sibling nearly cry from relief that she would receive help._

_"Father, I heard Botan badmouthing you in school today, don't you think she deserves a harsher punishment?" Sayuri asked with mock innocence. _

_Botan's eyes stared at her sister in shock, hoping that she was merely imagining that her sister said that. The wicked smirk that Sayuri sent her way however, only assured her that what she had heard was not her imagination._

_At hearing this, her father stopped, a sickingly sweet smile spreading on his face. _

_"Is this true, Botan-chan? **My** little girl was badmouthing **me**?" _

_Botan cringed slightly at being called Botan-chan, he only called her that when he was positively livid. And livid he was, he grabbed the collar of her shirt and smacked her hard in the face, throwing her into the wall after he was satisfied with his "work."_

_He kneeled down next to her, his hands grabbing her shoulders none too gently. His cold violet eyes locked with hers, his grip on her tightening. _

_"You shouldn't badmouth me Botan-chan. I'm avenging your mother, my **wife**. After all, if she had never given birth to you then maybe she would still be alive!"_

_With a kick to her stomach, he finally left her alone, her sister trailing behind him._

_U__sing the little amount of energy she had left, she stood up and collapsed on her worn mattress, blinking back tears that threatened to fall. She groaned as she flipped herself on her back, then stared up at the ceiling with sadness._

_"Do you still love me? Do I really deserve this? Can you see everything that's happening from heaven, Mom?"_

_Momentarily breaking her promise to herself not to cry, she let a stray tear fall, knowing that she would never get an answer back._

* * *

It was warm...

The freezing, numbing cold was gone, and she felt dry. The pain that she was so accustomed to feeling was practically non-existent, something that both pleased and shocked her. Just what was going on here?

She opened her eyes a bit, noticing that she seemed to be in a room... that was not her own. Panic coursing through her, she sat up quickly, regretting the action immediately thanks to the all too familiar feeling of pain shooting through her body, making her suppress a whimper.

"Hey, are you okay?" An unfamiliar voice asked.

She looked up curiously, her lavender eyes staring at the boy in front of her. His black hair was slicked back, a few rebellious strands loosely hanging and his eyes were a chocolate-brown. He couldn't have been an older than her and for some reason she wanted to trust him, but she would have to hear his story first.

Yusuke was slightly surprised to see that the girl had amethyst-like eyes, he half expected them to be a deep red like his friend's sister, or maybe even a brown like his own. He was even more surprised to see her eyes narrowed slightly, analyzing him. Slightly uncomfortable with her gaze, he coughed to try to break the tension.

"I'm Urameshi Yusuke."

She smiled slightly after she was finished staring at him.

"Harushima Botan," She said hoarsely. "Now can you explain where I am?"

He sat down on the edge of the bed, a serious look on his face.

"I found you on the side of the street yesterday, you looked like you were half dead so I took you over to my place, I guessed my mom would have some idea of what to do since she works part-time as a nurse. She said you broke your ankle, your head was bleeding, and you had bruises covering every inch of you."

Yusuke didn't miss how she flinched slightly at the mention of his mother, or how she unsurprised she was about her injuries.

"What the hell happened to you?"

She bit her lip, almost as though she was trying to stop herself from telling him. He sighed and rephrased the question.

"Who?"

She didn't respond, but he noticed that she tensed at his assumption. He frowned, so he was right that someone did this to her after all.

"Who?" He asked again, his voice concerned and angered.

"It's none of your business," she finally responded.

"Like hell it isn't!" Yusuke growled, "Who was it?"

She winced at his harsh tone, but still remained silent, holding back the tears that threatened to spill over. A small sob escaped her, making Yusuke panic. He never had experience with crying women before, but he knew if he continued asking she would only get worse.

He hesitantly put his arm around her, enveloping her in a somewhat awkward embrace. He could feel her tense slightly against him, but she relaxed after a moment, realizing that he had no malicious intent.

"Look," Yusuke said firmly, "I'm not going to hurt you, I promise. I just want you to tell me who did this to you, okay?"

She nodded slowly. If he was going to hurt her, he would've done so already, he wouldn't have bothered saving her in the first place. She smiled slightly, he seemed like a nice person, maybe he really cared. Part of her knew she shouldn't jump to conclusions so quickly, but she could hear the sincerity in his voice, and felt safer in his arms then she had been in a long time. Letting her eyes close, she let herself fall asleep on the kind stranger, praying that she was right to trust him.


	3. Chapter 3

Circles

A/N: Something I just remembered popped into my head, I forgot to mention the ages of everyone... My bad. Basically, everyone is about fifteen or so, with the exception of Shizuru, she's seventeen, and Sayuri, she's twenty-two.

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho and I never will... *cries*

Chapter 3

* * *

Heel-clad feet could be heard echoing through the empty streets as a young woman made her way towards an old cemetery, her entire outfit consisting of a black corset blouse, a long, black skirt, and a black pair of lace up boots, and in her arms were a bouquet of white roses. If one were to see her this way, they may assume she was a goth, or merely a very traditional woman attending a funeral, an insane one at that, it was pouring and she wasn't even carrying an umbrella with her.

But she wasn't either of those, she just felt the need to always wear black when she would visit her deceased mother. Not out of tradition, it was just she remembered how her mother always adored that color. It didn't suit her though, her mother was better suited in white, it reflected the pure heart that woman had.

The young woman found herself in front of her mother's grave, and before long, she was on her knee's, her gray eyes blinking back tears that threatened to escape in vain. She stiffly set down the roses on her mother's grave, wishing that she was really handing her mother flowers instead of setting them on top of the soil where her mother was buried. Taking a deep breath, she readied herself for what she had to say.

"Hey mom..." she said shakily, "It's me, Sayuri..."

She paused, looking around her to make sure no one was watching, and gulped. This was much harder than she initially thought.

"I- I just wanted to say..." Damn, why was this so hard? "T-that I'm so- sorry..."

It was like she could feel her mothers gaze on her, those same amethyst-like eyes that could see through anything, the same eyes that were passed down to her younger sister...

"Damn it!" She shrieked, her fist connecting harshly against the dampened ground. "I'm sorry mom! I'm so sorry, for everything, okay!?" The tears were running down her face freely now. "I'm sorry for not protecting Botan the way I should have! I'm sorry for not being a good big sister! I'm sorry that I'm so afraid! Dad's changed so much since you've left us, he's so violent now. I-I don't want to die, not yet! Now that Botan's run off, he's angrier than ever! He's even starting to hit me now..."

Sayuri stiffened when she felt warm arms envelop her in an embrace she hasn't felt for fifteen years, the same warmth and genuine love radiating from it now just as it did back then. But that couldn't mean...

"Mom?" She turned around sharply, half expecting her mother to be sitting behind her with that carefree grin she would always have. Her hopes were crushed however when she saw that there was nobody there, and the warmth of the embrace began to fade away from her.

"Mom! Don't go!" The midnight-haired girl cried out. But it was no use, the warmth had long since left without a trace, leaving Sayuri nothing but the numbing cold.

* * *

"Ugh," a feminine voice rasped. "My head..."

"Well its about time you woke up," an unfamiliar woman's voice said.

Wide awake now, Botan practically leapt out of bed, happy to see she wasn't in pain anymore, a rarity for her. She stared at the woman in front of her for the longest time, taking in her features. Long brown hair down to her mid-back, and warm brown eyes that resembled Yusuke's, chances were that this woman was his mother. Calming down slightly at the thought, she sat back down on the bed, muttering an apology as she did so.

"Hey it's okay, I would've done the same thing if I were you. I'm Atsuko, by the way. You're Botan, right?"

Smiling, she nodded. Atsuko strangely reminded her of Shizuru, she seemed to have that carefree air about her... Wait a minute...

_Shizuru_

_School_

Panicking slightly, she asked, "How long have I been out? What day is it today? What time is it?!"

"Fifteen hours, it's Monday, and it's nine-thirty in the morning."

"What!? I'm late!" Botan shrieked, hastily getting out of bed and rushing to her small closet, wait, this wasn't her house...

"You wouldn't happen to have a sarayashiki high uniform would you?" She asked, a sheepish grin on her face.

Atsuko smirked, "Close enough."

Before Botan could ask what she meant, Atsuko handed a dark blue jumpsuit to the blushing bluette.

"Um... this isn't quite what I meant..." She managed to say.

"It's all we got, I could lend you some clothes but I doubt they'd be small enough to fit you." Atsuko said nonchalantly.

Sighing, she reluctantly accepted the jumpsuit from the tall brunette. "It's better than nothing, right?"

* * *

A/N: Sucky way to end a chapter, I know. So yeah, now everyone know's Sayuri isn't _that _bad, she's just not over her momma's death... Review's make me motivated to write more... so if you please click that button...


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